Two Brother's Journey
by DrCan
Summary: While in the middle of a job, two thieves run into the one and only master of the Assassins, Ezio Auditore. From there they enter the world of Assassins, Templars, and life threatening missions. Of course having your brother at your side makes everything at least slightly better.
1. Chapter 1

The two thieves knelt on the roof. One determinedly trying to open the door that would lead into the house. The other trying his best to wait patiently.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" Alessio was never known for his patience however.

"If you keep bothering me while I'm working I'll never get this door open. You understand that right?" Piero replied, still doing his best to focus on the door, though he could feel his blood beginning to boil.

Alessio pondered what his older brother Piero was telling him, but only for a moment. "No, it wouldn't matter if I was as quiet as a mouse. You still wouldn't get this door open any faster you cazzo."

At that Piero had had enough. In one fluid motion he dropped his lock pick and swung at Alessio. It was a good punch, but having grown up with each other Alessio saw the punch coming, and was able to lean away from it.

Piero's momentum made him stumble past his brother. Before he regained his footing his brother jumped on top of his back, and put him in a chokehold. Piero struggled to pull Alessio's arm off of his neck, but his grip was like iron and he could not release himself.

Running out of time, and air, Piero decided to jump backwards and crush his brother between himself and the roof. His plan worked perfectly. As they collided with the roof Alessio let out a whoosh of air and loosened his grip.

Piero pried himself away and quickly moved out of his brother's reach, doing his best to regain the air that he was being denied just moments ago.

"Ugh" Alessio groaned while lying on his back. "I think you broke something."

"I should come over there and break something. What are you trying to do, kill me?" Piero raised his voice as much as he dared, being careful not to attract any local guards.

"Hey, you swung first." Alessio said as he stood back up looking at his brother.

He saw how angry he was and decided to apologize. "I'm sorry alright? I'm just nervous, this will be our best job yet, but only if we can get the door open."

While not likely as sorry as he sounded, Piero knew his brother would never really try to hurt him.

Piero sighed and walked forward. "Fine, but one last thing."

Once he got within reach Piero drove his fist directly into Alessio's stomach. While not swinging as hard as he could, he knew the punch would still hurt.

Alessio doubled over, clutching his stomach and letting out a muffled cry. After taking a few moments to catch his breath back, Alessio spoke with a menacing tone, "You're going to pay for that."

Piero had already gotten back to trying to open the lock when he heard his brother's response. "Oh I'm sure, let's just deal with that later."

"Fine." Alessio grunted back. "How much longer on the lock?"

As if on cue the slight click of the tumblers falling into place could be heard. "Ask and you shall receive. Let's go."

The two thieves snuck in though the door, stepping lightly. The home was that of a rich member of the Roman elite, a banker or merchant, the two were not entirely sure. While they were no Borgia or Medici, they were still an affluent family with lots of wealth laying around.

The two walked through the attic, doing their best to avoid some of the furniture and items that had been stored there. They noticed some stairs leading down into the rest of the house at the end other end and made their way there.

As they were about to reach the stairs Piero heard a loud thud, quickly followed by an even louder "Merda!" Turning around he saw Alessio rubbing his head with both his hands.

Trying to stifle a laugh and yell at someone at the same time was difficult at best, but Piero was able to keep most of the mirth out of his voice. "Quiet stolto, we don't want to wake everyone up do we?"

"Shut up, that hurt" Alessio growled back in response. "I wasn't even that loud, let's just find this guys office and get what we're looking for. This job just keeps pissing me off more and more."

The two reached the stairs. Looking down they couldn't see any lights, but it was always better safe than sorry. Piero took the lead and walked down the stairs, letting his brother wait at the top for his signal. Once he was halfway down he stopped to take another look.

The stairs led into the second floor hallway. Across from where he was standing he saw the stairs leading to the first floor. There were three doors in the hallway, one next to the other stairs, one directly to the right of where Piero was, and the last between the two. A faint bit of light was coming from the door nearest the stairs.

Since the family had no children it was safe to assume that that room led to the main bedroom. From there it was just a fifty-fifty guess as to which of the other rooms were his office. Piero signaled for his brother to come down.

He walked up to the nearest door as Alessio was coming down.

"Is that the office?" Alessio whispered as he notice Piero moving towards the door.

"It's either this door or the other one, so we'll just have to find out." He whispered back.

Piero slowly turned the knob of the door, making sure he didn't make any noise. He peered inside the room and let out a small cry of accomplishment. He had guessed correctly.

"Come on" he whispered to his brother "And close the door, don't want someone taking a peak."

Alessio quickly followed into the room, and just as silently as his brother had opened the door, closed it.

Inside the office was a large wooden desk in the middle of the room, with several chairs around it. There was a large bookcase along one wall filled with books and trinkets. Across from that was a small fireplace, embers slowly dying inside of it.

Piero walked towards the fireplace with a candle he had taken from the desk and leaned it into the embers. After a few seconds the candle lit up and the room was bathed in a soft yellow glow. Just enough for the two thieves to look around, but not enough to give their presence away.

"Alright, we're looking for a small chest. Let's get to it."

The two spent the next twenty minutes looking all over for where the chest might be hidden. While wanting to make sure they looked everywhere, they were careful to put everything they moved back. As any good thief knows, it's impolite to disturb the victims personal affairs to much.

As Piero was looking around the bookcase for a hidden wall, Alessio was looking under the carpets. He noticed one of the planks under the carpet near the fireplace was worn away one one side.

He reached down into the groove and lifted. There, hidden in a small compartment, was a small chest, some rolled up parchment, and a few bags of coins.

"Piero, I found it" Alessio happily called out.

Piero moved from where he was searching to kneel next to his brother over the hole.

"Nice job, is the chest locked?"

"Let's see" Alessio turned it over in his hands several times trying to find a lock, but he couldn't find it. In fact, the chest seemed to have no discernible marks or grooves at all. It was almost like one solid chunk of wood.

He gave it a shake and heard some rattling around. "At least it isn't empty. I'll handle the box, you get the coins. I want to get out of here before we push our luck too much."

"Hold on, I want to see what these documents say."

"Seriously? Now? We've got what we want, let's go." Alessio insisted.

"Hey, these could be worth some serious money, it'll only take a few seconds. Relax."

"Ugh. If you keep this up we're going to get caught."

"Says the guy that picked a fight with me earlier tonight on the roof of our targets house."

Alessio went to make a comment but Piero was already leaning over the papers and studying them. He knew he wouldn't be listening so he started to look the chest over again.

Because the two were preoccupied they didn't hear the door creak open, and didn't notice the hooded figure until he was almost completely in the room.

"Merda!" Alessio exclaimed as he shoved the chest into his pocket. "We've got company Piero!"

Before Piero could register what his brother had said the figure was already charging him. Alessio tried to intercept him, but the man just jumped and rolled off of his back. Alessio was caught by surprise and didn't think to stop himself. He crashed into the wall with a resounding thud, dazing himself in the process.

The figure was still coming towards Piero, and having seen how quickly he disposed of his little brother he wasn't taking any chances. He grabbed the candle they had been using and threw it at the man's face.

He was able to swat it away before it hit him, but while his attention was focused on that Piero made his move. He closed the gap between them and threw his elbow into the figures face. He acted quickly and ducked below the elbow and struck Piero in the side of his knee.

"Ah!" While not painful it did cause him to fall, and that left him open to take a swift kick to the side of the head.

Alessio was beginning to get his bearings back and start to stand, but the man did not wait for him. He grabbed the papers that Piero was looking at and rushed out of the room.

He was stopped at the door however by the owner of the house and a very sharp sword. Their scuffle had woken him, and he was none too happy to see several strange men raiding his office.

The man looked to be in his late twenties with short brown hair. Since he had just woken up he was not wearing a shirt and his muscles were plain to see. That sword he was wielding likely wasn't for show either, making him seem all the more dangerous.

"No you don't you rotten assassins! You don't think I'm just going to let you get away with those documents do you?" The man sneered at the hooded figure in front of him.

"Now you just hand those over and we'll all wait for the guards to take the lot of you in." He was waving his sword dangerously at the hooded figure, forcing him to walk back into the room.

"I'm sure the Borgia would be delighted to pick your little assassin brains for your hideout, oh yes. I think I'll be greatly rewarded for your capture."

At this point Alessio had gotten to his brother's side, and had picked him up. The two stood side by side with this strange conversation going on in front of them. "Uh, I'd just like to say that we're not assassin's or whatever you're talking about. We were just here to take your gems." As Alessio said this he showed the chest to the older man and the hooded figure. "So if you just want to take this back we'll be on our way."

Both men looked surprised to see the chest out in the open, though the sword wielding owner reacted much more violently than the assassin did.

"That isn't a gem box you fools! Put that down now! You have no idea the power that you have in your hand!" As he spoke he changed his focus from the assassin to the two thieves, a big mistake.

The assassin quickly knocked the man's blade aside, and while he tried to counter with a punch, the assassin ejected a blade from his wrist and jammed it directly into the man's head.

He sputtered a little, blood pooling around where the bladed entered his skull. Then the assassin pulled his blade back and the man crashed to the ground, dead as could be.

While not being strangers to death themselves, the two brothers had a distinct fear that the assassin could kill them both very easily. They kept quiet as the assassin turned to them.

He raised his arms and pulled back his hood. Underneath the brothers could see that he was a handsome man with a goatee and a small scar crossing his upper lip on the left side.

He put on a slight smile and spoke to the two, "You two did very well to sneak into a Templar's home. Tell me, what do you know about the assassin's?"


	2. Chapter 2

**So I forgot to mention this in my first chapter, but this is my first fanfic ever. I hope you enjoy it and I would greatly appreciate any reviews or comments you have for me. With that said, enjoy the story**

Piero and Alessio wandered the streets of Rome, talking about their encounter with Ezio several nights back.

They were also playing their favorite game, pickpocket.

"You think we should join up Piero?" Alessio asked as they walked down the street, following a pair of very well dressed citizens.

Piero placed the question in the back of his mind as he made his move. He rushed forward and bumped into the man on the left.

"Mi scusi Signore." He said after he had jostled the man, and quickly cleaned out his pockets.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again you abominato!" The man yelled back as Piero quickly fled, doing his best not draw much more attention to himself, while still trying to get as far away as possible before the man noticed the new lightness of his pockets.

While Piero had the pairs attention on him, Alessio was able to quickly remove the other man's coin purse. As Piero ran one way Alessio turned the other, and the two made their way to a meeting place they had set up in one of the alleys of the city.

Piero got their first, and had time to think over his brother's question. It was an interesting offer to say the least.

Ezio had explained to them that the Assassins were an order dedicated to keeping humans free of control, and let them keep the ability to make whatever decision they wanted. Their eternal enemies, the Templar, were operating under the belief that they could keep everyone safe, as long as they had control.

They used their large wealth and power as leaders in both politics and religion to push people into a more controllable state. Families like the Borgia were one of these groups trying to take away man's ability to choose.

The brothers never started stealing to prove a point or take a stand, they did it because they were good at it and enjoyed it. Becoming an Assassin would mean taking up a cause. No longer would the two just rely on each other, they would have people they had never met depending on them to keep them free and safe from Templar influence.

The offer to join gave them the opportunity to get better at their own craft, as well as gain skills in other areas. Something they would likely not get the chance to do staying as thieves. By joining an order like the Assassins, they would have access to many different opportunities.

As he continued to think of how their lives would change, Alessio jumped down from one of the rooftops above. As he landed he rolled in front of Piero and hopped up, looking none the worse for wear. With a smile on his face he asked, "So how much did you make?"

Piero jostled his his newly acquired Florins in his hand as he spoke, "I made fourteen Flroins."

"Not bad, not bad" Alessio replied with a devilish smirk. He pulled his bag up in between their faces and gave it a good shake. The sounds of the coins clinging together seemed much louder than the ones in Piero's hand.

"It seems luck was with me today, I have twenty two in here."

"Merda! How do you always win?" Piero exclaimed, annoyed at his brother's continued winning streak.

Alessio put his coins away, his smile as wide as ever. "Oh you know, I'm just better than you."

"Bah, you're just luckier, that's all."

Piero shoved his ill-gotten Florins angrily in his pocket and started walking out of the alley. His brother close behind him.

As they joined the crowded streets Alessio decided to restart their previous conversation "So do you think we should join the Assassins?"

Having already put some thought into it, Piero was quick with a response.

"There are a great deal of positive and negative aspects to being an assassin. It's hard to say if we'd be better off playing the handsome, but unaffiliated, thieves, or if we might do well to join a group bigger than ourselves. What do you think?"

Alessio pondered the question, staring off into space as he tried to determine how best to put his thoughts into words. Finally, he decided.

"I think being an assassin would be a pretty impressive feat for people like us. I think we should give it a chance."

A small chuckle escaped Piero's lips before he responded. "As simple as ever little brother, but you do have a point."

Getting a determined gleam in his eyes Piero looked at Alessio. "Though I do agree. Becoming an assassin would be quite a feat. I say we take our chance at it. Do you remember where Ezio told us to meet him?"

"Yeah, he mentioned a place on Tiber Island. Shouldn't take long to get there from here."

"Alright good." Piero said with a clap of his hands. He looked around and noticed that they had walked into a different part of the city from earlier.

"How about we go one more round of pickpocket, then make our way to Tiber Island?"

Alessio's usual smirk showed up at the prospect of keeping his winning streak going. "Sounds good to me. How about that group over there?"

The two thieves, breathing hard and a covered with several scrapes and bruises, stood before the Assassin's headquarters on Tiber Island.

"Si misero pezzo di merda!" Piero yelled as he smacked the back of his brothers head. "I told you it was a bad idea to try and steal from the captain of the guard!"

Rubbing the back of his head and staring his brother down with the same kind of fury that Piero had, Alessio yelled back "It would have worked if you weren't such a clumsy oaf! We almost got away!"

"We didn't get anywhere near away! As soon as we hit the alley we were surrounded! We're lucky to be alive!"

Alessio dismissed his brother's statement with a wave, "They wouldn't have killed us over a few Florins.".

Getting even angrier at Alessio's apparent apathy at what had happened, Piero grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close. Doing his best to keep his voice low, but letting his anger saturate his words.

"Even so, it was a bad idea and you know it. We can't fight guards, our best bet is to just avoid them or run away."

Alessio swatted Piero's hand off his shirt. "No, I'm sick of running from them. If a guard starts pushing me around I don't just want to run away like some coniglio. I want to show them what happens if they mess with me!" By the end of his rant he had gotten very animated and very loud, drawing the attention of everyone walking by.

Having had this argument many times with his brother, Piero knew they would get nowhere quickly. He took a long breath, and let it out slowly, doing his best to let his anger go.

Having gotten some of his composure back, he changed the subject to what they had come there for.

"One of these days that temper will cost us both. Let's just find a way inside this place and talk to Ezio, va bene?"

"Fine" still fuming from their argument Alessio did not feel like speaking more than he had to.

The two took several minutes and looked all around the sprawling building, both to survey the building and to give themselves some time apart to calm down. With its multiple levels, varying roofs, and the water surrounding it, it was quite the fortress.

As they investigated the area they saw several doors, though each was blocked by a couple of scrupulous looking men and women. While they weren't dressed like Ezio, it didn't mean that they weren't working for the Assassins.

"I think we should just walk up to one of those guards and tell them we're supposed to be meeting Ezio." Piero said, not seeing any other option at the moment.

Alessio shook his head in opposition to that the idea. "No, they would probably just turn us away. I think I saw someone go in through the roof." As he spoke he pointed up to one of the roofs with a large bird coop on it.

Looking closely Piero could see the top of a doorframe, or some kind of entrance, near where Alessio was pointing.

"That is an awful idea." Piero said completely straight faced. "If we get caught they'll probably try to kill us."

"So then we won't get caught. Let's go." As he finished speaking he made a run at a nearby wall with several boxes stacked atop one another.

Alessio hit the first box at a full sprint, using it as a launching pad to jump on top of the second, and from there launch himself towards the roof's ledge. His momentum carried him up and he was easily able to pull himself over the side and out of view.

Piero looked around to make sure no one was watching, then followed suit. Even though he knew it was a bad idea, he wasn't about to get shown up by his little brother.

As he cleared the roof he saw his brother trying to climb up to the coop by grabbing onto a windowsill. It didn't look like he could hold on so Piero ran towards him and yelled out, "Two top!"

Hearing the nickname they had given for when they had to work together, Alessio knelt down and linked his hands together, ready to launch his brother once he closed the gap.

Piero jumped, put his foot in his brother's hands, and the two lifted in unison. Piero cleared the gap and was able to grab onto the ledge. He hauled himself up and then turned around and lowered his arm for Alessio to grab.

Alessio walked back, to give himself a running start, and charged the wall. At the last second he jumped and placed one foot on the wall and pushed up. Knowing he still couldn't reach he placed his other foot on the wall and pushed again.

As he pushed up his foot slipped and he did not go as high as he was expecting. His arms flaling he almost missed Piero's outstretched arm.

Thankfully for the two of them Piero reacted quickly and was able to grab hold of one of Alessio's arms.

Alessio slammed into the wall with a solid thump, almost pulling Piero down in the process.

"Hurry up! I can't hold you forever!" Piero yelled at Alessio.

"I'm trying!

As Piero pulled, Alessio tried scrambling his legs up the wall. After several difficult seconds Alessio made it on top of the roof.

Piero looked out from the roof to the city beyond. The day was bright and he was able to see miles out. It was a beautiful sight, and Piero took it all in.

Alessio called out from the door, "Quit looking at the city and lets go, we don't have all day."

Piero sighed as he walked over to the door, "You have no appreciation for beauty do you?"

"The only thing I have appreciation for is gold and all the nice things it can get me."

Alessio knelt in front of the door to unlock it, but noticed that it was open already."Hmm, you'd think assassins would be more worried about security" Alessio observed.

"Probably. Of course they're all trained killers, they could probably slice anyone up that got inside."

Alessio started to have second doubts about barging into the home of deadly assassins, "Maybe going in this way wasn't the best idea."

"I already said that. It's too late now."

The door opened on a set of spiral stairs that went both up and down. Figuring their best chance to meet Ezio was on the first floor, Piero started heading down.

"I bet he's upstairs." Alessio commented as he followed Piero downstairs.

"I'm sure he isn't."

"I'll bet five Florins he isn't."

"Done."

As the two finished placing their bets with one another they came upon an open archway. Piero put a finger up to his lips for silence and carefully peered through the archway.

The room it lead to looked like an armory. It was filled with shelves along each of the walls. Swords, daggers, maces, and hammers rested on each shelf. Each weapon looked to be in good condition, as well as extremely deadly.

Besides the weapons the room was empty. Piero gave the all clear sign and they both walked in.

Alessio gawked as he looked at the weapons. He spotted a Syrian Falchion that he could not resist. He grabbed the sword and felt the weight in his hands, took a couple of swings through the air, then placed it back.

"These assassins have some impressive weapons here."

"Yeah, these guys don't seem like their joking. Let's see if Ezio is in some other room."

They walked out of the armory and into a large open area with chairs, couches, desks, and a fire place. Each wall had at least one tabard hanging with the Assassin's symbol on it.

There were archways leading to other rooms along each wall.

Alessio went to check out one of the desks while Piero looked around with a critical eye. Having been a thief for so long he was able to spot expensive items with ease, and he was not disappointed by what he saw.

"I can only wonder where these assassins get all this money. This furniture is all pretty expensive. Including the weapons, and I'm sure a number of other things we haven't even seen yet, it must pay very well to be an assassin."

"We do alright for ourselves." At the sound of another voice the two brothers quickly turned to where they had just entered from.

Standing in the archway was a tall blonde haired woman. She was dressed in robes similar to Ezio's, and had a loaded crossbow aimed at Piero's chest.

"Whoa!" Piero exclaimed loudly. While always having a weakness to beautiful women, the crossbow aimed at him took priority.

He rose his hands in the air to show that he did not mean her any harm. "We're just here trying to talk to Ezio, we don't want any trouble."

"If you didn't want any trouble, why did you sneak in here then?" The woman asked, doing her best to keep both eyes on the intruders. Her crossbow never wavering from Piero's chest.

"That's what I was telling my brother earlier when I said we should have just tried the front door. Hehe." Piero tried to add a small laugh at the end, but the woman did not seem amused.

"Yeah, we probably wouldn't have let you in, never know who is Templar and who isn't."

Her voice was like soft velvet on Piero's ears, though as much as he enjoyed listening to her, he could also hear a subtle lack of emotion. The kind of tone used when a person is ready to kill.

Alessio had been quiet during their exchange. Trying his best to slip out of her view, and into her blind spot.

She anticipated this however, and just as he thought he had made it she quickly swung the crossbow over, and aimed at his heart.

"I'd just stand right there if I were you. Never know when one of these things might just accidently go off" She threatened coolly.

Not one to back down, Alessio decided to call her bluff and threaten her back.

"You've only got one bolt loaded, and there are two of us. If you kill one the other is going to get you."

"Alessio!" Piero called out, "Knock it off!"

Trying to defuse the tension between his brother and the blonde Piero spoke quickly.

"I promise you we're only here to see Ezio. Is there any way you can get him here, he'll tell you it's true."

Still staring down Alessio she replied, "I already sent someone to get him, he was upstairs in his room. Should be down shortly."

"When did you do that, I never saw you when I looked in the armory, and we had the stairs block" Piero asked, not sure if he should be impressed by her skills, or disappointed in his own lack of them.

"You learn a few tricks being an assassin."

Before Piero could ask what that meant, Ezio and a male recruit appeared from behind the girl.

"I see you two were able to find the hideout, and that you got the chance to meet Caterina."

"Oh yeah, you got a real charmer here. You mind pointing that crossbow somewhere else?" Alessio said angrily towards Caterina.

"Not particularly." She replied.

"Calmare you two. Caterina, please put the crossbow down." Ezio asked gently. She lowered her weapon, though kept her finger close to the trigger. Able to quickly strike down Alessio or Piero if Ezio asked her to.

Deciding it was time to move the conversation forward, Piero spoke up. "We decided we'd like to take you up on your offer Ezio. We would like to become assassins"

Ezio nodded his head with approval, "That is good to hear. You both seem like you would do well here."

He walked past Caterina and up to Piero, and placed his hand in front of him.

Piero took his hand and they shook.

Piero kept careful watch on the hidden blades on Ezio's wrist, remember well what had happened the last time he had seen them.

After their shake he walked up to Alessio and shook his hand as well.

"Well brothers, I am proud to welcome you both into the Assassins. You are welcome to stay here, as there are bedrooms upstairs, but it is not required. There will always be someone here willing to train you in any skills you wish, though you will be doing most of your learning from missions that I will give to you. Do not worry, I'll be sure to send a senior member with you at first."

As he spoke the other recruits had begun walking away, though Caterina stayed behind to watch.

Piero gave her a smile and a nod, to which she replied with the faintest hint of a smile. It was still a smile though, and he felt that the real thing would be an amazing sight to behold.

Ezio waved for them to follow as he walked into one of the other rooms.

"You'll be fitted with apprentice robes to wear, and given any weapon of your choice. If you questions, feel free to ask me or any of the other members you meet. After you have changed I would like to test out your skills."

As the two newly anointed assassins followed Ezio to get their apprentice robes, Alessio leaned over to Piero.

"You owe me five Florins."

"Fottere."


	3. Chapter 3

Since the Dominatti brothers joined the assassins almost a month ago their skills had steadily improved.

Having been thieves for several years they had already mastered the basics of sneaking, free running, and keeping their presence hidden. Where they had improved the most however was in their fighting and assassination skills.

Ezio watched as the two sparred with each other in the basement of their headquarters. While Ezio hated going down there he knew that it was the only good place to practice combat, unless of course they wanted to go outside and anger some guards.

As Ezio chuckled slightly at the thought, Alessio continued putting pressure on Piero with his bearded axe.

Piero was a dexterous and intelligent fighter, and was very capable of holding his opponent at bay, but he did not have his brother's ferocity or strength. It took all of his skills to deflect and maneuver around his brother's attacks.

Having chosen to stick with his knife instead of a sword put him at a disadvantage against the heavy axe Alessio preferred using.

Seeing that he had the advantage, Alessio roared loudly and renewed his assault. Blow after blow, swing after swing, he put constant pressure on his brother.

Piero did his best to avoid the gleaming axe head, but he knew he wouldn't last much longer. Every strike he deflected sent a wave of fatigue through his arms. If he was going to win, it would have to be soon.

Alessio went to take another swing, but miss stepped and swung his axe several inches off from where he had planned. This was all the opening Piero needed.

He rushed forward and closed the distance between themselves. Alessio tried to draw his axe back to defend from Piero's attack, but the small knife nimbly wove around Alessio's shoddy guard. He stopped the blade inches from his heart, ending the fight.

Had this been a real fight, Alessio would have suffered a fatal wound, and been lying on the floor dead.

The two remained interlocked, breathing heavy and staring one another down. Piero had to look up slightly because of his brother's greater height. After several seconds the two broke out in a pair of wide grins.

"Well" Alessio said with a large grin, "at least you got one."

Pulling away and sheathing his knife Piero replied, "Yeah, it's nice to know that it takes me four tries to beat you once."

"We can't all be the pinnacle of human physique brother." Alessio mocked while striking a pose and trying to show off his muscles. He held the heavy axe in one hand over his head while his other arm flexed next to it.

"You both did very well," Ezio congratulated as he walked towards the two. "Though there are areas you will need to fix." He began with Alessio, holding his hand out for the axe to demonstrated his point.

Axe in hand Ezio began describing how Alessio could improve "You wield your axe well, but you are quick to strike and slow to think. You rely on your strength too much. If you take the time to study your opponent, block some of their attacks, and add feints and dodges to your moves, you could become an unstoppable force."

"Thank you signore." Alessio said with a little bow. Ezio returned the bow with a head nod and turned to speak to Piero. Having not known Alessio for long, he did not hear the subtle tone of sarcasm that Alessio had given him. Piero heard it however, and made a mental not to reprimand him for it later.

"Now you Piero, have quite the opposite problem. You are too defensive. There were many times when you had the chance to end the fight, but you never took them." Ezio pantomimed striking Piero with a blade.

"You are good at reading your opponents, but that ability requires courage to be of any use. You have been trained for these kinds of fights, trust your instincts and you will be fine."

"I will do my best to work on that signore." Piero said with genuine appreciation.

"Good," Ezio said as he clapped his hands together. "That is enough sparring for today. I have some matters to attend to at the moment, but I would like to see you both early tomorrow morning. I believe you are ready for your first contract."

At that Ezio walked towards the stairs and left the two speechlessly standing in the middle of their sparring circle. Neither could believe that they were getting the chance to take a contract so early. Normally an assassin had to wait months before they got the chance.

"This is great!" Alessio exclaimed loudly. "We're moving up the ranks! We'll be true assassins in no time."

Alessio was having trouble containing his excitement and began to do some kind of victory dance. It was all very embarrassing, but luckily only his brother was there to witness it.

"Calm down. Ezio isn't about to send us out on some important mission," Piero said trying to calm his brother down. "It will probably be something minor."

"I don't care what you say, I'm still excited," Alessio replied, though he had at last stopped dancing.

Clasping his brother around the shoulder Alessio pushed Piero toward the stairs. "Let's go celebrate, the first drinks are on me!"

Although he knew they shouldn't go out drinking, he figured the best way to make sure Alessio didn't get into trouble was to go with him. Besides, a few drinks never hurt anybody.

"Fine, but try not to get too drunk this time, we have important work tomorrow."

"Details details."

* * *

Several hours later a tipsy Piero was all but carrying his extremely drunk brother from the tavern. As usual Alessio did not try to limit his drinking and so it fell to Piero to get him home.

As Piero walked with Alessio hanging heavily on his shoulder his brother spoke constantly.

"I'm jush shaying, we'll be running thish place shoon. Nobody can stop the Dominattish!" At that last comment Alessio threw his arms up in the air, stumbled forward, and fell on the ground face first. Piero could hear slight giggles coming from where Alessio was laying.

Piero put his hand up to his face and sighed into his palm. They were only a block away from their home and Piero hoped they would be able to get there without Alessio more of a fool of himself.

He walked towards his brother, now laying on his back and laughing loudly to the sky.

"Get up you cazzo, we're almost home." Piero said as he offered Alessio his hand.

Alessio grabbed it and struggled to his feet, forcing Piero to do most of the lifting. Once on his feet Piero slung Alessio over his shoulder again and they continued walking.

The two rented a pair of rooms in an elderly couple's home. While Alessio and Piero lived in the upper floor, the couple took up the first floor. The top floor had two bedrooms and a small storage closet. The first floor had a single bedroom, the kitchen, and an office that, from what Piero could tell, was rarely used.

It was an alright set up. The Costa's mostly kept to themselves, though every couple of weeks they would offer to share a meal with the brothers. They often took them up on it, as Fia was a very good cook.

There was no light coming from inside the house, but that wasn't surprising since it was almost one in the morning. They walked past the front door to the alleyway beside the house. There was a set of stairs that led up into Alessio's room.

Piero helped Alessio up the stairs and leaned him against the railing as he frisked his pockets for the key. Alessio groaned several times, but for the most part he was barely conscious.

Piero slipped the key into the hole and opened the door. Inside the room was dark, but since Alessio only had his bed, a dresser, and a desk, it was easy to navigate.

He hauled Alessio into the room and let him fall unto his bed. As soon as he was laying down he began to snore softly. Piero chuckled thinking about the hangover Alessio would have tomorrow.

Piero tiptoed out of Alessio's room and into his down the hall. He walked in, shut the door, and went up to his dresser to light one of the candles sitting there. The tiny flame barely lit half the room.

Unlike his brother's room, Piero liked to collect things, mementoes really, from his past. He had several shelves with books as well as an eclectic group of items he had taken from his jobs as a thief.

On one shelf, resting atop a small pedestal, was a single glass rose. The stem was an opaque green, giving it the impression of being completely solid. while the petals on were a translucent red. They looked so delicate that they could break at the slightest touch.

Piero had grabbed that from the bedroom of a judge in Florence that the two had broken into when they first started their career as thieves. Back then they were working for a gang in Florence, and were sent into the judge's house to leave him a message not to try and mess with their gang.

It was a dark time in their lives back then, and everything was very bleak.

When Piero first entered the bedroom to leave the note a ray of moonlight shone in from the window he had entered from and hit the rose. It reflected the light and gave the room a bright red tinge.

It was one of the most beautiful things Piero had ever seen at the time. He knew immediately that he had to have it.

He left the note on the desk where the rose had previously sat.

Piero would look at that rose every now and then and remember who he used to be, and how far he had come. For him it represented their humble beginnings, and how to appreciate the finer things in life.

His brother told him he wasted his time collecting these kinds of things, Piero didn't mind, he knew he was a sentimentalist.

Aside from the shelves Piero's room matched Alessio's with a single bed, dresser, and desk. His desk sat along the wall, the window above it looking out into the street.

He walked over to sit at his desk, bringing his candle over, and looked at the most recent addition to his collection, the box from their last job.

They had initially given it to Ezio to look over and try to determine what it was. After giving it his best he took it to an inventor friend of his, Leonardo something, but even he was unable to unlock the mysteries behind the box.

Alessio stopped caring once he realized he couldn't sell the box for a cash reward, but Piero didn't want to give up on the contents of the box.

Every couple of days he would look the box over again, holding it in different kinds of light, trying to feel it out, even striking it after one particularly rough day. Nothing seemed to faze it.

Thinking that in his slightly inebriated state he would be able to gleam something new from the box, he picked it up and looked it over. To his lack of amusement he didn't seen anything new, the beer goggles had failed him once again.

He leaned back in his chair, legs up on the desk, and began batting the box between his hands. The tiny object inside rattled every time he struck it, but Piero couldn't really bring himself to care at the moment.

Back and forth, back and forth the box bounced. Piero's fingers deftly spinning it one way than the other as it left his hands. He only began the activity to occupy his hands as he started thinking about what the next day's task was going to be.

As his mind wandered his attention to the box lessened, until it missed his hand all together. Piero quickly leaned back to try and catch the box, his arm outstretched, but all he succeeded in doing was tipping his chair back and hitting the ground. The box clattered away from him and toward the wall.

He sat up on his tipped chair, rubbing his head where it had bounced off the wood floor. He looked around to find the box, and was not surprised it was still in one piece. What was surprising was a faint golden glow that seemed to emanate from it.

Excited that the box had opened he rushed over to it. He picked the box up and turned it so the light was directly on him.

The box had not opened, a fact that greatly disappointed Piero. What had happened however was that on the side of the box that the light was coming from, a design had risen onto the surface.

Whether he had completed some combination or the fall had raised the symbol Piero would never be sure, but he had discovered a clue that no one else had.

He took it back to his desk, righted his chair, and pulled out a pen and paper to sketch the glowing design.

It wasn't a perfect rendition, but what Piero had drawn was a semicircle, open at the top, with three lines pointing into the center, each equidistant from one another. In the center of the lines was a large teardrop with several small spirals inside.

Piero had never seen the design before, but he was confident that Ezio might've.

With his chest swelling with pride at discovering a secret that no one else could find, Piero went to lay in his bed. He drifted off to sleep as dozens of fantasies sprung to his mind of what the box could hold, or where it may lead him and his brother.

* * *

Piero and Alessio stood before Ezio's room inside the Assassin's HQ. Though calling what Alessio was doing standing was an insult to standing.

His shoulders slumped, his hands holding his head, and with his back arched he looked more like an imitation of death than an Assassin. A sure sign that the hangover from the night before had yet to run its full course.

From time to time Piero would look over at him and stifle a laugh, if only to save him some of his dignity.

He had mentioned to Alessio earlier about what the design on the box, but Alessio was too preoccupied with his hangover to really understand the significance of what he'd found out.

It had been almost an hour since they were supposed to show up at Ezio's office. Piero hopped Alessio had recovered enough to handle their meeting.

"You ready yet?" Piero asked.

Alessio slowly stood up straight and let out a long breath. "Yeah, I think I'll be alright for a few minutes. Let's make this quick though, I don't know how long I can stand."

"You're an idiot."

"No argument here."

Piero opened the door and the two walked inside.

Unlike most of the rooms inside the headquarters, Ezio's office was well decorated. He had a large rug covering most of the stone floor, an oaken desk with a large armchair sat to the right of the door, and a pair of bookcases took up space across from the door. Along every wall were paintings of religious figures or famous people, some of which Piero recognized as past targets of the assassins.

The room also had a large bed with four posts and a canopy sitting near the single window in the room across from the desk. It seemed like an odd thing for Ezio to have in his office, but he likely had it in case he did not feel like walking home late at night.

Ezio sat quietly at his desk, staring out across his room out into the brightening morning sky. It seemed like he was deep in thought, and Piero was reticent to disturb him, but he knew Alessio wouldn't last long so he spoke up.

"Ezio, you wanted to talk to us about our first contract?"

Ezio slowly turned his head from the window to look at the two men standing in front of his door. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was disheveled. It seemed to Piero like he had gotten little sleep the night before.

"Ah yes, come in" Ezio said quietly, motioning with his hands for the two to get closer.

They did as was asked and Ezio continued once they got closer.

"I will be sending you two out to Florence. There is a large horse race being held there that we know will be attended by a group of Templars. Our sources say that they have a horse in the running that is expected to take the entire race."

"Your mission will be to insure that their horse does not win, without giving them the idea of foul play."

Ezio noticed Alessio making a large exhale as he finished describing their mission.

"This is not an incredibly important task, I know, but it will reduce the influence that the Templars have in the city. I believe with your past in the city you both will handle this matter expertly" As he finished speaking he leaned back in his chair, resting his head on the back of it.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to get done. There will be a chariot waiting for you near the Northern entrance at 2 O'clock today. In the city look for a man named Ampelio, he will likely be surrounded by courtesans."

"My brother is well versed with that particular part of the city, we will have no problem finding him." Piero said.

"Before we leave Ezio, I was able to find a clue to the box." He pulled out the drawing from the previous night and place it on Ezio's desk. Ezio grabbed the paper and held it in front of his eyes, moving it back and forth.

"I don't know where this is from, but I thought you might."

"Very good job Piero, I'm impressed" he placed the paper back on his desk. "I'll look into this more later."

"Of course, we'll leave you to your business now signore. Good day." Piero concluded their business with a slight bow, while Alessio tried to dip his head without throwing up on the floor.

"Good luck you two." Ezio replied with a wave as they walked out of the room.

Once they got out into the hall Alessio leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting down on the floor with his forehead resting on his knees. Piero leaned next to him though kept himself standing.

"You alright down there?"

"Yeah. Ezio understands my pain though."

Piero looked at his brother confused, "Why would Ezio 'understand' your pain?"

Alessio leaned his head back and looked up at Piero "He was as hung-over as I was in there, did you not see how quickly he got us out of there?"

Piero dismissed him with a wave, "He wanted us out of there because he had work to do, and he was probably up all night working on something important."

"Whatever."

Piero shook his head and began to walk down the hallway towards the armory to clean his armor and weapons before they left.

"Just be ready by the time we leave" He yelled over his shoulder as he turned the corner. He heard a quivering grunt in response, quickly followed by a slight thud as Alessio slid to lay on the ground.

Piero chuckled and went on with his business.

* * *

Inside his office, Ezio sat with a full pitcher of water and small, vomit filled bucket he had hidden under his desk.

"That is the last time I drink alone," he said to himself as he lowered his head on his desk, trying not to throw up for a fourth time that morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Piero stood by the large gate that acted as the Northern entrance to the city, large duffle bag laying next to him. He had arrived a couple minutes ahead of time, but he always liked to be early to prepare himself. This time it gave him the opportunity to work out some nerves.

His bag held his assassin's robes, some food, money, and some extra supplies. His knife hung within easy reach on his waist. The blade was small enough that a guard wouldn't be suspicious seeing it out, but Piero knew how deadly it really was, and that was all that mattered.

As he waited he watched the people coming and going. Some were merchants and farmers, bringing in their wares to be sold on the markets. Others were travelers looking to see the holy capital of the world, at least as the Catholics saw it.

Piero kept looking, at first it was with a thief's eye. Trying to determine the best way to pick their pockets clean or imagining how he could trick them into letting him into their home and grab some of their valuables.

Then his mind shifted to assassination. He looked at a group of three guards and tried to think of the best way to take one out without the others killing him.

Looking around he spotted some buildings that they were walking towards, maybe if he got up there he could jump down, kill the guard, drop a smoke bomb, and then run before the others could react.

He shook his head quickly, trying to banish the thoughts of murder out of his mind. Piero wasn't used to new aspect of his mind, and he especially didn't like how much he had begun to use it recently.

He didn't have a problem killing to defend himself, but it was hard for him to imagine killing someone just on the word that they were bad. He sighed out loud and began to stare at the ground, continuing his mental battle as people walked past him without giving him a second glance.

* * *

Across town Alessio was rushing down the street, his bag clanging against his back along the way. He had gone home to sleep after the meeting with Ezio, trying to rid himself of his hangover. While his hangover was gone he realized that he had overslept and would be late to their meeting if he didn't rush.

Barreling down the street he wove through groups of people, or just shouldered through the unlucky few that didn't move. Shouts and curses followed him along as he tore through the streets. He passed a few groups of guards, but he did his best to keep his distance and they didn't bother him.

At the speed he was going, Alessio expected to be just in time. The past couple of weeks had been a little hard on him and his brother, and he didn't need to add to the stress by being late. While they had gotten used to heavy stress over the years it was always nice when it wasn't there straining their relationship.

He took a left turn, still going at full speed, and crashed head on into another person.

Going as fast as he was, and with his heavy muscular body and bag, he completely bowled over the other person. The two went crashing to the ground, Alessio landing on top while the other person landed face down onto the stony road.

Alessio quickly hopped off the woman, only just seeing her flowing blonde hair, and immediately started apologizing.

"Merda! I am so sorry signora, I'm in a rush and wasn't looking. Please, let me help you up" trying to be as nice as possible he began to put his hand on her shoulder to roll her over.

As he did he started to fear that she was unconscious, but just as he touched her shoulder she smacked his hand away. Rolling herself over she looked up at him, eyes full of rage and blooding pouring out from her broken nose.

Even through the blood he could see that it was his fellow assassin Caterina. "Oh merda."

Looking her in the eyes almost stopped Alessio's heart cold. She had never really liked him, especially after he had tried to hit on her after their initial meeting, but this was beyond anything he had seen before.

She rose shakily to her feet, eyes never leaving his, and began cursing Alessio out. She walked toward him while he took a couple steps back. "Si misero pezzo di merda! È figlio di puttana sporca! I should break your neck for this!"

He continued to try to back away, but Caterina kept on him. "I'm sorry," he said trying to explain why he had hit her. "I was on my way to meet Piero for a contract in Florence but I woke up late so I started running there and wasn't paying attention."

Alessio was now firmly backed up against the side of a building. A crowd had started to form a circle around the two arguing assassins.

Seeing that she was calling far too much attention to themselves Caterina took a deep breath to try and calm herself.

After a long exhale she leaned forward, grabbed his collar in her fist, pulled him nose to nose with her, and said very quietly.

"This is not how an assassin behaves. We are not a group of drunken fools parading around the city for our own amusement. We are here to keep the people safe from men trying to control them. If you are incapable of understanding that responsibility then you have no right to be an assassin. If you get in my way like this again I will kill you myself."

At that she stormed off into the crowd, the people opening up a path for her as quick as possible. No one felt willing to be in the way of a woman covered in so much blood, especially one that had just chewed out a man much larger than herself.

Alessio stood there for several moments, barely able to register what had just happened. Eventually he remembered why he was in such a rush and started running to meet Piero. As he ran he wondered how Caterina could overreact to such a minor accident. Perhaps his brother would have a better insight into the situation.

* * *

Ten minutes after the set time Alessio showed up at the meeting place, covered in sweat and barely able to stand up. In the time it took him to get there Piero had already gotten their carriage ready.

It was a simple square cart led by two horses, one a with a deep brown coat, the other a mix of fawn and white. There was a seat in the front where the driver directed the horses, while in the back there was room for several bags or people to sit down. A layer of hay had been placed to make it more comfortable.

Piero sat at the front of the carriage with reigns in hand, his bag already in the back, and stared at his brother unhappily.

"Nice of you to show up brother, now get in," he commanded icily.

Alessio, still breathing heavy, jumped into the back of the wagon and collapsed. He let his head rest on the seat next to Piero.

Piero yelled a single "Ha" as he snapped the reigns to get the horses moving. At first the carriage drove at a slow pace, but after a few strides they were moving at a fair trot.

At the speed the two were going they would reach Florence by sundown the next day. The race was not for another four days so the two were in no rush to get there.

"So what took you so long," Piero asked after several minutes on the road.

"I overslept, sorry."

Piero sighed. "That's why I told you not to drink so much last night. This is our first mission, we can't screw it up."

Alessio stared up into the sky, his arms resting on his chest. "Yeah I know, but I would have been on time if I hadn't run into Caterina."

Piero looked down at his brother, one of his eyebrows arching up in curiosity. He hesitated for a moment, almost afraid to hear what his brother and Caterina had done together.

"So," he started. "What happened between you two?"

Alessio, oblivious to his brother's hesitation, began telling his story. His arms moving this way and that the help emphasize the tale.

"I was running from home, trying to get to the gate on time. I ducked around a corner and ran right into her back. We both went flying onto the ground. It was a complete accident, but I guess I hit her pretty hard because when she finally got back up her face was all bloody and she was cursing me out pretty badly."

Alessio left out the part where she had threatened him, he had decided along the way to the gate that it wasn't that important.

As Alessio finished his story Piero fell back into the carriage, clutching his stomach and laughing uproariously. The horses, no longer feeling any tension from the reigns, started to speed up. Alessio had to hop up and grab the reigns before the horses ran them off the road.

"What is wrong with you?" Alessio yelled once the horses were back under control. Piero continued rolling in the carriage laughing at his brother. It was several minutes before he quieted down enough to get up.

As he sat next to Alessio he wiped away several tears from his eyes, a wide grin still held strong.

Piero clasped his brother on his shoulder and pulled him into a sideways hug. "You're a real idiot, you know that?"

A tiny smirked formed on Alessio's lips. "She's going to kill me when we get back isn't she?"

"Oh I don't know, you think you did any real damage?"

"I might have broken her nose," Alessio said cautiously.

"Yeah, you're finished. I can have all your stuff right?"

* * *

Night had fallen and the two were laying around their small fire. The horses were tied up to a nearby tree and the carriage sat between them and the road, giving them a modicum of privacy from any late night travelers.

They had finished eating and were enjoying the cool night, looking up into the endless sky. As they watched the stars the stars were looking back. Thousands upon thousands of tiny little lights against an endless curtain of black. While the boys had seen many nights like this before, the view always gave Piero a special sense of calm. It was as if the universe was telling him that there was no where he could not reach, and that anything was possible.

Alessio burped loudly, shattering Piero's moment of clarity.

"Nice." Piero replied.

"Thanks, I wanted to get it just right before I shared it with you."

Piero stood up to douse the flame. "You're a true saint, don't let anyone tell you different," he sarcastically commented.

"Why thank you, I always knew I was." Had it been light out Alessio would have seen Piero roll his eyes at him.

As the fired hissed its final goodbye Piero laid back down to fall asleep, before he could however his brother began asking him a question.

"Do you think that we were meant to be assassins?"

Piero let the question hang in the air for several seconds which grew into several minutes.

"Piero?" Alessio said checking to see if he was still awake.

It wasn't that he did not want to answer the question, he was afraid he didn't have the right answer.

"Well," he began. "I believe that everything happens for one purpose or another. Our running into Ezio was not coincidence alone."

"Do you think we'll be good at this, I mean we've never really been a part of anything more than a group of thieves, and even then we kept to ourselves."

"I will agree, it is a different experience being a part of something with a purpose. I think we'll be able to handle this kind of stuff though, it will just take time and training."

Alessio pondered that for a moment before he replied.

"Thanks, I just needed a little reassurance is all."

"Of course, though I don't want to keep telling you to take this more seriously. Like you said we have a purpose now, and you should give it and Ezio the proper respect. None of this over drinking and lazing around."

Having heard this for the second time today Alessio decided not to respond.

Piero waited for a sign from his brother that he heard him, but all he got was the rhythmic breathing of someone sleeping.

"Cazzo," he said to himself as he tried to fall asleep himself.

* * *

The next morning was a brisk one. Dew had formed on the grass and the sun was rising over the horizon. Piero had always been an early bird and liked to see the sun rise with him. His brother was quite the opposite, and Piero was not looking forward to waking him.

He stood up, stretching out his arms and legs in the process, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Looking around at the empty field around them he thought that something was amiss. He soon realized what the problem was.

Being sure to remain calm, Piero walked over to his brother and lightly nudged him with his foot. Alessio didn't move.

He tried again and once more Alessio kept sleeping. Weighing his options on how best to wake his brother, he decided to go for the simplest approach.

Piero leaned his face as close as he could to his brother's ear, took in a large breathe, and screamed as loud as he could.

"Ahhhhh!" Alessio screamed as he jumped up, his covers flying off him in the process. His eyes wide and fists raised, he was ready for a fight.

He swung his gaze over the campsite, and saw his brother standing by his bed roll. Arms behind his back and a small grin on his face.

"Why would you do that?" Alessio yelled angrily as he stomped toward him, getting ready to throw down. Piero stood there unfazed, speaking right before Alessio got to him.

"Our wagon has been stolen, along with the horses."

Alessio's expression quickly shifted from rage, to confusion. "Huh?"

"When we were sleeping we were robbed, I wanted you up quickly so we could try and get our stuff back before whoever took it can get too far away."

"So you had to scream in my ear?"

He shrugged. "It was the only way."

Alessio sat back down in his bed roll. "Ugh, fine. Just give me five minutes to wake up properly, and for my ears to stop ringing."

"Fine, but hurry up. If we don't get these abominato soon, we won't be able be able to complete our contract. And I don't know about you, but I'm really not too keen on seeing what Ezio would say to us failing a mission because we were robbed."


End file.
